


A Very Thorough Breach of Skyhold's Security, Not That Anyone Minds Much

by TwoCatsTailoring



Series: Sound/Fury [5]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Eavesdropping, F/M, First Kiss, Fun, Gossip, M/M, Making Out, Not Beta Read, Silly, Spying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:47:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22682725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoCatsTailoring/pseuds/TwoCatsTailoring
Summary: When the Lavellan Clan escaped persecution in Wycome and arrived at Skyhold, Bull and Echo had no idea that it would bring them such a golden chance to do their third favorite couples activity: eavesdrop and gossip about their friends.Nysal Lavellan belongs to sorshania.Daniel is mine.
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Iron Bull, Female Lavellan/Solas, Iron Bull/Female Trevelyan, Male Lavellan/Dorian Pavus
Series: Sound/Fury [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534262
Kudos: 7





	A Very Thorough Breach of Skyhold's Security, Not That Anyone Minds Much

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sorshania](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sorshania/gifts).



There were not many places in Skyhold where a couple could go to be alone. There were a few more available to the Inquisitor herself, but they were still few in number. 

The Rookery was one such place at this time of the evening. People were, for the most part, involved with their end-of-day activities. Getting meals, getting ready for bed, and checking the watches meant that most of the library's inhabitants were elsewhere. And the torchlight cast long shadows up into the rafters, making the top level the best place for a bit of privacy.

Not that they were up to anything much. Both The Iron Bull and Echo were inclined to be handsy, but this was definitely not the place to be doing much more than that. Especially not with a statue of Andreste standing across the way, watching.

Neither Echo nor Bull was Andrastian, but the old gal was just creepy. And neither enjoyed an audience.

But that didn't mean that they didn't like being an audience on occasion. Mainly when it meant that they got to spy on their friends. Which was precisely what had dragged their attention away from one another and over the railing. 

The first sign that things had been happening below was Solas's laugh. He didn't laugh like that often, so it was only natural that Echo and Bull, nosy as they were, wanted to know what had him in stitches.

A glance over the balcony had given them the answer: The unlikely team of Keeper Lavellan and Grand Enchanter Fiona had descended upon Solas with some massive book. Fiona had one finger on a passage, the other hand on her hip, and her head bobbed in an apparent mockery of what she'd found there. Solas was shaking now, a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud again, and Keeper Lavellan's head was face down on the desk, shoulders heaving in silent mirth.

How the pair had connected at all was a mystery Echo did not have time to solve but was eternally grateful for. Echo knew very little of Fiona but knew enough to recognize that she was a force of nature. The Keeper appeared to be the same. Had the two locked horns - a Dalish mage and the leader of the Rebel Mages - things could have gone very badly indeed. 

Maybe they saw value in what the other had to offer, perhaps they both liked the same food, or maybe they both had the wisdom to know that picking their battles could make or break the Inquisition. Whatever it was, Echo was glad they'd decided not to pick one with each other. It meant that the Inquisition's people were rarely sick for more than a few days because of their combined healing knowledge. And more importantly, it meant that the mages within the ranks - be they Dalish or Circle or Rebel - knew they were valuable, needed, and above all respected here. 

Vivianne barely made a sound over it, which was even better in Echo's opinion.

Bull and Echo shared a smile at the scene that unfolded below them. Solas getting along with much of anyone was cause for happiness. He did tend to be prickly and hard to get to know at first. And him getting along with two elves, one a circle mage turned rebel leader and the other a Dalish Keeper, was almost celebration-worthy. As the Enchanter gathered up the book and the pair moved towards the stairs to the library, Echo and Bull exchanged raised eyebrows at Solas's almost fond look as he watched them go.

Sometimes, Solas acted more like a grouchy old man than the relatively young one he was. It was nice to see him growing past that.

Fiona and The Lavellan made their way through the library, stopping for just a moment to say hello to Dorian before continuing to what everyone considered Fiona's table. The pair opened their book again and read a bit more before The Lavellan found something amusing, and they both began to chuckle again.

Bull and Echo leaned on the railing for a few minutes, watching the slow passage of the lamplighters as they went through, putting out all but the most necessary lights in the Rotunda. Dorian waved them off, absorbed in his reading, and Solas had snuffed out all but one torch and the light on his desk before they even got to the bottom floor.

Bull inched closer to Echo, making a move to kiss her when she grabbed his arm and tried to shake it, pointing to Dorian's alcove with her eyes wide.

Bull's mouth turned into an o, and he and Echo both instinctively took a step back into the shadows, determined to not be seen or heard. 

Dorian wasn't alone anymore. Somehow they'd missed the arrival of Daniel, one of Clan Lavellan's hunters and, according to Dorian, quite the skilled craftsman. Also, according to Dorian, he was the most handsome and agreeable man Dorian had ever met. Other than himself, of course. 

Echo knew that for what it was, naturally. She hadn't spent the better part of a year running all over the countryside with Dorian not to have learned his habits of speech. When he said, "handsome and agreeable," what he meant was that he was half in love already and had no idea what to do with himself. Bull was full of advice, of course. All of it useless, naturally, because Dorian was not the sort to pin anyone to a wall.

Bull knew Daniel better than Echo did, but they both agreed that he was an excellent match for Dorian - Daniel, who never seemed to be ruffled or bothered by much balanced Dorian's more dramatic moments. And he was, according to the rumor mill that churned away with alarming speed and accuracy in Skyhold, just a really decent sort. 

Echo thought that after the shit he'd had to put up with back home, Dorian deserved someone who wasn't going to be awful to him. Now, as she watched the two of them together, flirting and carefully not touching one another in the narrow dormer space, she huffed.

"Wish they'd get on with it already," Bull groused in a whisper. 

Echo nodded agreement. "I'm getting bored with them just making cow-eyes at each other."

"He's worse than Cullen."

Echo shook her head, "No, Cullen just didn't notice Bryony was interested in him. These two are worse because they _know_ but won't act on it." She mimed choking someone and rolled her eyes.

From the bottom floor of the Rotunda, there came the sound of the door to the ramparts closing. It always stuck first, then snapped shut with a thud. Bull peeked over to see who was coming through that way, expecting to see a scout or one of Leliana's people. Instead, it was his turn to grab Echo's attention and point.

Solas had taken to studying the shard on his desk again in the half-light he had left. He hadn't even looked up when the door banged. But that changed as the person who'd entered made sure that she had his full attention by sidling over, sitting on his desk, and propping one foot on the arm of his chair.

The mild annoyance Echo felt towards Dorian and Daniel was replaced with a grin of unbridled glee and sparkle of mischief in her eye that Bull almost laughed at. He bit it back just in time to not draw any attention to their hiding spot, but it was a near thing. 

Echo liked Nysal Lavellan a lot - they were both mouthy and inclined to be irreverent at times but were also both utterly devoted to their duties. They also both enjoyed arguing with Solas, but it seemed that Nysal's interest extended beyond just banter.

And Solas's seemed to as well because he'd actually put down the shard! 

Echo and Bull made shocked faces at one another.

"Scandalous!" Echo whispered, stifling a snicker.

"No, look," Bull hissed back, pointing.

"Oh my god," Echo breathed, mouth hanging open.

"Is his hand on her…" Bull didn't finish the question because Solas's hand was most definitely on Nysal's thigh and sliding higher. 

"Oh my god," Echo said again. "Right in front of the shard?"

"Scandalous," was Bull's reply before he dissolved into shaking, silent laughter while the festivities of the ground floor moved into the darker area where Solas kept a very comfortable couch.

Recovering took a few moments of fighting with their mirth. They couldn't even look at one another lest they completely give away both their location and their spying habits. It was just so funny to them both, though for slightly different reasons. 

For Echo, this was her first real experience with seeing romance unfold. Everything back home was boring, pre-arranged, and absolutely dictated by propriety and good behavior. Having real friends, not just the ones she had to have because of location or circumstance of birth, that she could be happy for as they fell in love was so much fun.

For Bull, it was just nice to know that he wasn't the only one being brought to his proverbial knees by matters of the heart. And when the matches were good for his friends, well. Who could blame him for getting a laugh about it?

Once recovered, Echo glanced back towards Daniel and Dorain, not expecting much change. What she saw instead had her grabbing at Bull's harness and pointing so they could both gasp together. 

Dorian had given up his seat in the most comfortable chair in Skyhold to Daniel and was now sitting on the puffy stool at his feet. Dorian wouldn't even give up that chair to Echo when there were people around who needed to be impressed!

That thought didn't linger in her head for long. Not only were they sitting so close to one another their knees were touching, but their faces were just inches apart and getting closer by the second.

Echo gripped Bull's arm and nearly vibrated out of the Rookery as they watched, in what felt like slow motion, Dorian and Daniel's lips met. 

Echo threw both hands in the air and spun in place, celebrating as silently as she could. Bull pumped his fist in the air before high-fiving Echo. Thankfully, nobody heard that because they were all too busy doing other things. 

Because, when Bull peeked over the railing to see if there was anything half so juicy to report from Solas and Nysal, they were as distracted as Daniel and Dorian.

Maybe more so, since she was in his lap and his hands had disappeared into the dark reaches of her clothes. 

Echo pressed a fist to her mouth to keep from giggling out loud and Bull's eye went wide as he assessed the situations playing out on the other two floors of the Rotunda. 

"You know," he whispered into her ear, "Red's always so worried about making sure Skyhold doesn't get invaded. But I'd say we've got an invasion already."

Echo wrinkled her forehead and cocked her head to the side.

"All these Wycome elves showed up only to steam the place up."

Echo muffled a giggle and said, "If they keep it up, I'll have to have them thrown in the cells for making my hair all frizzy."

"Your hair?" Bull feigned shock. "What about my horns?"

Echo doubled over then and the snort of laughter that slipped out bounced off the rafters, down into the Rotunda, drawing the attention of Fiona and Keeper Lavellan. They swapped a knowing look, then headed for the Rookery stairs to investigate.

"Oh shit," Echo cursed. "Caught!"

"Damnit," Bull rolled his eye and sighed. "Guess I'll have to protect your reputation, then." He grabbed Echo by her waist and lifted her up to sit on a nearby crate. He popped the clasps on her jacket open as he ran a rough hand through her hair, mussing it just enough to be convincing.

"Bull, what are you…!"

"Sh," he demanded, kissing her soundly. "We can't have anyone thinking Your Worship, The Inquisitor is a gossipy spy, can we?"

Echo snorted again and tried to look a little guilty as Fiona and Keeper Dashanna rounded the stairs and came into view.


End file.
